In the very competitive realm of telephones, it has become increasingly important to reduce and simplify the steps involved in the manufacture of a telephone. Each step eliminated or simplified reduces the labor content and/or facilitates automated assembly of the telephone.
Heretofore, the keypad used to generate the telephone calling signals has typically been assembled as a discrete component by the use of fastening elements and then it has been secured in place in the telephone by the use of fastening elements. These fastening elements must be individually handled and therefore introduced either a relatively large expenditure of labor or require a relatively large expenditure of capital to provide automated assembly.